There are many sports in connection with which a participant may need or wish to carry articles, such as while hiking, skiing, or skating. In playing the sport of paintball, a carrier pack is a necessary item. In paintball, the participants are allocated to "sides" or teams. The teams run about a playing field and seek to "hunt" adverse team members and squirt them with paint from paintball guns. The players of this sport must carry cartridges of paint to refill their paintball guns while playing. The paint cartridges can be heavy. Thus, the carrier pack used for paintball should be sturdy, capable of carrying much weight, and provide good back support to the user. At the same time, it is important that the pack not interfere with the user's mobility and flexibility in the upper body and arms. Additionally, another consideration with paintball packs is that the players may want to carry differently-sized cartridges depending on the game and, therefore, adjust the packs they are carrying.
Consequently, it would be advantageous to have a pack that provides good back support, does not interfere with the user's mobility, and is adjustable for carrying different numbers or sizes of items. A wide variety of carrier packs have been patented showing a combination of packs with differently-sized compartments, or packs having supportive belts. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,006 to Slautterback, "Method of Using a Lifting Belt in Combination with an Accessory"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,156 to Sicotte et al, "Modular Component System"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,824 to Lyon et al., "Belt Pack and Support Therefor"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,356 to Noriega et al., "Detachable Article Holders"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,051 to Robinson, "Painter's Pouch"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,000 to Munoz, Support Carrier Belt System"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,243 to Zerobnick et al., "Integrated Belt-Supported Backpack"; U.S. Pat. Des. 411,659 to Karton, "Multi-Pouch Fanny Pack," U.S. Pat. Des. 355,070 to Thiessen; U.S. Pat. Des. 384,808 to Carretta, "Sport Pack"; U.S. Pat. Des. 380,086 to Brassard, "Article Holder With Belf"; U.S. Pat. Des. 238,725 to Zerobnick, "Belt Pack."
However, in few of these cases are the packs truly "modular" meaning that the belt and the pack are readily detachable from one another so that the packs can be adjusted to carry differently-sized items at various times. In some cases, as in Lyon et al., straps can be undone from buckles and the packs removed from the belt so that a new pack can be rebuckled and strapped back onto the belt. However, unbuckling the straps can be cumbersome and time-consuming. A few packs have been described involving VELCRO.TM. attachments to attach and detach the compartments. See, e.g., Slautterback, Sicotte et al., and Munoz. However, these latter packs are not adapted for use in carrying heavy items such as paintball cartridges.
As may be appreciated, there is a continuing need for a carrier assembly that is modular, provides good back support, and does not interfere with the user's mobility. Additionally, there is a continuing need for modular support and carrier assemblies for use in sports to provide the consumer with a choice of products.